We are considering leaving MN and move to Hood River or Portland. I prefer HR but I know I have to be realistic so here are few questions about Hood River.
How are the schools ? I know that the test scores are not that impressive
Real Estate / new construction : We would probably want to build a new home. But driving around HR, I just did not see a whole lot of new construction
Weather: Compared to Portland, it rains less and it is sunnier. Is it noticeable? Maybe someone that lived in both places can tell.
Family life : We love the outdoors, biking skiing, hiking etc.. Any other aspects that make the area attractive ( or not ) as far as raising a family ?
Work Does most people commute to ptlnd. If so, is traffic bad on I-84> My wife works in social care, I have heard the job market in HR is tough.

You might consider moving to White Salmon, just across the river from Hood River. WA state has no income tax. Property taxes are a bit less in Klickitat County (about 1.1%) vs. Hood River County (about 1.5%). Do your shopping over in OR where there is no sales tax.

As far as weather - moist air from the west meets cold air from the east and you get ice storms in the winter in the gorge. Portland will be more temperate. Even without ice storms, I would not want to commute to Portland every day. That would be 120 miles, or so, every day.

My wife and I moved out here from Cleveland 5 years ago and have never looked back! We ended up splitting the difference between HR and PDX and bought a home in Washougal, WA. No ice storms, No income tax! Plenty of empty lots in the area to build a new home. If Schools are an issue neighboring Camas has excellent ones.

Speaking as someone who was educated in CT, the schools here are crap. OR is in the bottom 5 when you look at most respected websites. The TAG programs are virtually non-existent. Most of the $ goes toward bringing up students who are behind and cannot achieve what OR feels is a benchmark amount of knowledge. 50% of kids in HR County are on free or reduced lunches to give you an idea. I think WA has more invested in education than OR, or at least HR County. As someone else said, there are a number of benefits to living just across the river with money and education being at the top of the list. The WA towns get better weather believe it or not. South-facing and just a little away from the HR Valley foothills. I drive all over the Gorge for work every week, so this is practical knowledge I feel comfortable sharing. Feel free to contact me by email or phone for more info. Moving is a big deal. Steve Kaplan 541-806-7838 skwkjk@embarqmail.com

There are a lot of funny people here like Willysurf. We don't all give good advice however. It is a dry humor - you have to acquire a taste for it. But I wasn't kidding about the school district. That was no bullshit.

The drive on 84 can be a big burden maybe 4-6 days a winter. Mostly it is just tons of rain and lots of standing water. Every few years there is a one-two day period where the highway is shut down from ice. You can either take the road on the WA side, drive around the mountain (on well-plowed snow), or call in sick those days.

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